Month: June 2017

I want you guys to know something about yourself – you are awesome! Something else? If you have a mental illness it does not make you a lesser being. If you take medication for it, that doesn’t make you weak. You have an illness, and you wouldn’t think any less of someone for breaking their leg or having diabetes would you? I know that some people struggle with this stuff and I just wanted to encourage you today if that’s something that’s tough for you.

When I was first diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder I panicked. I thought that it meant that my personality was wrong or that I was a bad person. It does not mean that! I am a great person, I care about other people and will do all that I can to help those around me when I can – there is nothing wrong with my personality. All that diagnosis means is that there’s a reason for what goes on in my brain. There’s a reason for the mood swings and slightly skewed vision of myself and for all the other symptoms that I deal with. But I’m just a person with an illness, I’m not flawed or any less valuable for it.

In the same way, all your diagnosis means is that you’ve got an illness and the good thing about it is that with a diagnosis you can get some help! If you’ve never asked for help yet, please do, there will be people around you somewhere that want to help even if you can’t see it.

Sometimes that help comes in the form of medication – that’s okay! Anti-psychotics, anti-depressants, anti-anxiety medication are just to help you manage day by day, and you should be no more ashamed of that than a diabetic person would be of taking Insulin.

You may not get better, or it may take a long time. While you’re recovering you may not be able to do everything and keep up with everyone around you. That’s okay too! I broke my ribs a while back, and they took ages to heal. It hurt a lot, so I was taking painkillers regularly (medication) and was unable to do any sports or even walk around much. That was okay. It’s no different needing to get extra sleep, take more time to yourself or anything you have to do in order to help yourself to heal.

Never be ashamed of your illness, or let anyone make you feel bad because of it. Just because your illness is largely invisible doesn’t mean that it’s any easier than a physical one.